Related teachings in the state of the art as U.S. Patent Application 20030081607 by Kavanagh, entitled general packet radio service tunneling protocol (GTP) packet filter, discloses a method of filtering data packets in General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Tunneling Protocol (GTP) signaling messages, whereby selected messages from GTP Path Management, GTP Tunnel Management, GTP Mobility Management, and GTP Location Management messages are analyzed against a plurality of filtering criteria, and data packets that do not meet such filtering criteria are dropped while data packets that meet the criteria are passed. However, the application by Kavanagh speaks to a module for selective filtering of GTP Data packets, whereas our invention of present seeking the protection of Letters Patent, is largely directed at proxying and filtering GTP Control packet(s), which are on a separate User Datagram Protocol (UDP) port number and perform a different set of business operations.
WIPO Patent Application (WO) 03067830 by Camunas et al., entitled a system to obtain value-added services in real-time, based on the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS)-network, discloses a system to obtain value-added services in real-time based on the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) network, which comprises Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) and Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN) nodes to enable the access from a mobile station to different data networks, using the radio access of a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) or Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service (UMTS) network; wherein between the SGSN and GGSN nodes the invention comprises means to handle GTP protocol data packets, and wherein the GTP messages traffic, which would have otherwise flowed directly between the SGSN and the GGSN nodes, is diverted through said means. When said means detect a GTP message from an SGSN asking a GGSN for the establishment of a GTP tunnel for a Packet Data Protocol (PDP) context, said means establish instead two GTP tunnels: one between the Camunas et al.'s invention and the SGSN and the other between Camunas et al.'s invention and the GGSN (once established, the user data packets will arrive through one of the two tunnels associated to their PDP Context and will be transferred to the other tunnel). However, Camunas et al.'s invention requires all GTP packets to be intercepted, whereas the invention disclosed herewith only requires and speaks to the intermediation of GTP-C (GPRS Tunneling Protocol-Control plane) (the control) packets which remains a more resourceful approach to advancing the practice of the art. Furthermore, our invention may monitor the GTP-U (GPRS Tunneling Protocol-User plane) packets or alternatively rely on the packet intermediations of the method for implementing an Internet Protocol (IP) charging and rating middleware platform and gateway system as detailed in patent application Ser. No. 10/348,972, for the purpose of providing the data intermediation and intercept functionality on the data plane. (Technicians skilled in the art will recognize that the invention of present need not be limited to the aforementioned method for implementing an Internet Protocol (IP) charging and rating middleware platform and gateway system and other similar network implementations may be employed without diluting the intent and scope as such).